284 syndactyly:. 



of our sparrows^ to the Ciirugua grsiiidc(Ca I urns anri- 

 ceps), twice the size of a jay. All have spreading tails, 

 and their loose plumage makes them look of greater 

 dimensions than they really are. At intervals, they 

 utter a mournful note, well imitated by their common 

 name, Gnruijua. This cry would inevitably betray 

 them to the hunter, but they are admirable ventrilo- 

 quists, and it is often impossible to discover them, 

 even when directly above the head of their pursuer. 

 The species vary as much in colour as in size, but 

 the backs of all are of a resplendent green or blue, 

 while beneath they are conspicuously ornamented 

 with red, or pink, or yellow. In the pairing season, 

 the male has a very melancholy note, which is never 

 uttered at any other time than when the female is 

 sitting. They begin to pair about April, when they 

 take possession of the hole of a rotten tree, or the 

 excavations made by ants ; and here the female lays 

 three or four white eggs in the decayed wood and 

 dust ; or, if there be no dust, they bruise the wood 

 into powder by means of their strong beak. The 

 young, when first hatched, are quite destitute of 

 feathers, and the old birds feed them with small 

 worms, caterpillars, and insects. 



The type of the sub-family, — 



The Peacock Trogon (Trogon pavo^iimis), is a native of 

 the Amazonian forest, and well deserves its name, as it 

 is not only splendid in the colours of its plumage but 

 elegant in form. On account of the looseness of its fea- 

 thers, it is not able to cha-^e insects m the air with as 

 much adroitness as is exhibited by some other Trogons 

 having firmer plumage ; hence it feeds chiefly upon ber- 

 ries, fruits, and the insects it can pick oft' the branches 

 without being obliged to pursue them on the wing. While 

 engaged m search after food it is an active bird, running 

 about the boughs with great agiUty, and clinging with its 

 powerful feet in every attitude, seeming to care little 

 whether it be sittmg on a branch, after the custom of most 

 birds, or hanging with its head downwards like the Par- 

 rots. Altliough brilliant in its bedizenment, it is not so 



